“Speaking from the offensive line, we have to give our running backs and our quarterback more time, better protection, stuff like that,” Davis said. “I know that as long as we’re blocking, guys like Shaun Wilson, Brittain Brown, Daniel Jones, they are going to make some plays. So if we do our job, I have so much faith in them that they are going to get the job done no matter who is back there.”

Wilson is clearly Duke’s starter at running back with Nico Pierre running at second team along with promising redshirt freshman Brittain Brown. Last August, as a true freshman, Brown so impressed the coaching staff that the decision to redshirt him was difficult.

Quay Chambers, left, Shaun Wilson and Bryon Fields Jr. run a drill during the first Duke football practice on Monday.

Grace Turner heraldsun.com

At wide receiver, Rahming is proven. Two other experienced players, redshirt junior Johnathan Lloyd and redshirt junior Chris Taylor, are also listed as starters on the depth chart even though their combined catches last season (63) are fewer than Rahming’s 70.

Fuller sat out the 2015 season as a redshirt and missed last season after having surgery to repair a broken bone in his knee area. Bracey arrived at Duke as a four-star recruit from Richmond but missed the 2016 season due to a hamstring injury suffered last August.

“We are excited for all those guys,” Jones said. “Keyston and Scott have looked great all summer. It’s exciting to see them improve. But you think about the whole wide receiver room. It’s very deep and talented. Those guys are poised for a big season. So many guys who can do so many things is a dangerous weapon for an offense.”

Duke center Austin Davis discusses the first day of football practice on July 31. "I know that as long as we’re blocking, guys like Shaun Wilson, Brittain Brown, Daniel Jones, they are going to make some plays."

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Cutcliffe offered one bit of caution about the receivers, with the caveat that this was just the first day of practice.

“A couple of them,” he said, “I want to see a little more of a conditioning level out of them.”

A new name to watch is redshirt freshman Mark Birmingham, who looked good last spring.

The coaches believe their roster is the most talented as it’s been in a decade. That means the competition for playing time is fierce. Duke needs that talent to show well for Jones to lead the team back to a bowl game this season